Home/Species/ Nuttall's Milkwort

Senega nuttallii

(Torr. & A. Gray) J.F.B. Pastore & J.R. Abbott

Nuttall's Milkwort

G4Apparently Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →

G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank

UnknownThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.150632

Element CodePDPGL02120

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderPolygalales

FamilyPolygalaceae

GenusSenega

Synonyms

Polygala nuttalliiTorr. & Gray

Other Common Names

Nuttall's milkwort (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2024-06-18

Change Date2024-06-18

Edition Date2024-06-18

Edition AuthorsJohnson, J. (2024)

Threat ImpactUnknown

Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences81 - 300

Rank Reasons

Polygala nuttallii is a wide-ranging annual herb of the eastern United States that is common on the coastal plain from Massachusetts to Delaware and with scattered occurrences south to Florida and west to Tennessee and Mississippi. While this species has a large range extent, over 100 occurrences, and somewhat broad habitat preferences, it is at risk in many states where it occurs. Coastal development, conversion of lands for agriculture, and forestry practices which contribute to habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation are concerns for this species.

Range Extent Comments

Polygala nuttallii is common on the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains of the eastern United States from Massachusetts to Delaware with scattered occurrences south to Florida and west to Tennessee and Mississippi. Historic occurrences in Kentucky may be extirpated (FNA 2021, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2024). Reports from Arkansas may be misidentified specimens (Gentry et al. 2013). Range extent was estimated at 660,000 sq km using herbarium specimens collected between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).

Occurrences Comments

By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are between 81 and 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).

Threat Impact Comments

In the southeastern United States, Polygala nuttallii is threatened by land-use conversion, habitat fragmentation, and to a lesser degree by forest management practices; intensive site preparation is probably detrimental to this species (Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project 2002).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Polygala nuttallii grows in "dry, sandy meadows, open moist disturbed areas, pocosin margins, pine woodlands, bogs, wet flatwoods, powerline cuts, roadsides" (FNA 2021).

Terrestrial Habitats

Woodland - ConiferGrassland/herbaceousOld field

Palustrine Habitats

Bog/fen

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN4

Province	Rank	Native
Tennessee	S1	Yes
Maryland	SNR	Yes
Virginia	S4	Yes
Massachusetts	S3	Yes
New York	S2	Yes
Delaware	S4	Yes
South Carolina	S2	Yes
Rhode Island	S2	Yes
Pennsylvania	S3	Yes
Florida	SNR	Yes
Kentucky	SH	Yes
Alabama	SNR	Yes
North Carolina	S2	Yes
New Jersey	S4	Yes
Georgia	S3	Yes
Mississippi	SNR	Yes
Connecticut	S1	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
1 - Residential & commercial development	Unknown	Unknown	High (continuing)
2 - Agriculture & aquaculture	Unknown	Unknown	High (continuing)
5 - Biological resource use	Unknown	Unknown	High (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvesting	Unknown	Unknown	High (continuing)

Plant Characteristics

DurationANNUAL

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (1)

Virginia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Three Ridges	George Washington National Forest	4,745

References (9)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2021. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 10. Magnoliophyta: Proteaceae to Elaeagnaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 456 pp.
Gentry, J.L., G.P. Johnson, B.T. Baker, C.T. Witsell, and J.D. Ogle, eds. 2013. Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas. University of Arkansas Herbarium, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Online. Available: https://www.arkansasheritage.com/docs/default-source/arkansas-natural-heritage-commission-documents/atlas-of-the-vascular-plants-of-arkansas_2020-download.pdf (Accessed 2025).
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
Pastore, J.F.B., Martinez, A., Abbott, J.R., and K. Neubig. 2023. Toward new generic delimitations in Polygalaceae II: Senega 1. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 108(1): 126-249.
Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project. 2002. A partnership between the U.S. Forest Service-Region 8, Natural Heritage Programs in the Southeast, NatureServe, and independent scientists to develop and review data on 1300+ regionally and locally rare species in the Southern Appalachian and Alabama region. Database (Access 97) provided to the U.S. Forest Service by NatureServe, Durham, North Carolina.
Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).

Senega nuttallii

Habitat

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